You are standing
precisely under the archway of the old Porta del Lago, the main gate of the
second circle of walls: its name derives from the fact that the outer face
of the gate overlooked the "Lake", actually a small pond designed to protect
the walls at their most vulnerable point.

The walls used to run along the little garden you see on your left, and
along the inside they were overhung by a canopy that protected street
vendors from the weather. The care and maintenance of the Lake were
entrusted to the parishes of S. Emiliano and of Matigge. It was drained and
back-filled with earth in the late 18th century, and the gate and walls were
pulled down in 1909.

Northeast of the
Lake — where the hospital now stands — there stood until 1620 a little hill
called "Montarone delle forche" (Gallows Mound) because capital executions
were held there. The mound was leveled in order to build S. Domenico, a
convent for Dominican brothers.